Disney's Dumbo

This Disney story is all about believing in yourself and trying as hard as possible to achieve something you never though you could ever do. When Dumbo, the circus' new baby elephant, is harassed constantly for his big ears, Timothy the Mouse decides he's going to teach Dumbo how to fly. After several failed attempts one night, they wake up in a tree in the morning clueless as to how they got there. 4 crows who were in the tree with them said they had flown up there. Secretly the boss crow gives Timothy one of his black feathers and has him tell Dumbo that the feather is magic and he should hold it in the tip of his trunck when he gets ready to fly and it will help him. During a show where he was supposed to jump out of a "burning building" and into a net, he decides to use his flying ability to aww the crowd. Unfortunately, he dropped his feather upon take off and started to plunge toward the ground, that is until Timothy told him it was a fake and it was really all him. After Dumbo became a big his coast-to-coast, he make Timothy his manager and forgave everyone who had been unkind to him, "for his heart was as big as his ears."

Christina Rossetti

Christina Georgina Rossetti (December 5, 1830 – December 29, 1894) was an English poet. Her siblings were the artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, and Maria Francesca Rossetti. Their father, Gabriele Rossetti, was an Italian poet and a political asylum seeker from Naples; their mother, Frances Polidori, was the sister of Lord Byron's friend and physician, John William Polidori.

Rossetti was born in London and educated at home by her mother. In the 1840s her family was stricken with severe financial difficulties due to the deterioration of her father's physical and mental health. When she was 14, Rossetti suffered a nervous breakdown. At least one biographer has suggested that this, combined with internal evidence within her poetry, suggests she may have been a victim of sexual abuse, possibly at the hands of her father.

Her breakdown was followed by bouts of depression and related illness. During this period she, her mother, and her sister became seriously interested in the Anglo-Catholic movement that was part of the Church of England. This religious devotion played a major role in Rossetti's personal life: in her late teens she became engaged to the painter James Collinson but this ended because he reverted to Catholicism; later she became involved with the linguist Charles Cayley but did not marry him, also for religious reasons.

Rossetti began writing at age 7 but she was 31 before her first work was published — Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862). The collection garnered much critical praise and, according to Jan Marsh, "Elizabeth Barrett Browning's death two months later led to Rossetti being hailed as her natural successor as 'female laureate'." The title poem from this book is Rossetti's best known work and, although at first glance it may seem merely to be a nursery rhyme about two sisters' misadventures with goblins, the poem is multi-layered, challenging, and complex. Critics have interpreted the piece in a variety of ways: seeing it as an allegory about temptation and salvation; a commentary on Victorian gender roles and female agency; and a work about erotic desire and social redemption. Some readers have noted its likeness to Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" given both poems' religious themes of temptation, sin and redemption by vicarious suffering. Her Christmas poem "In the Bleak Midwinter" became widely known after her death when set as a Christmas carol by Gustav Holst as well as by other composers.

Rossetti continued to write and publish for the rest of her life although she focused primarily on devotional writing and children's poetry. She maintained a large circle of friends and for ten years volunteered at a home for prostitutes. She was ambivalent about women's suffrage but many scholars have identified feminist themes in her poetry. Furthermore, as Marsh notes, "she was opposed to war, slavery (in the American South), cruelty to animals (in the prevalent practice of animal experimentation), the exploitation of girls in under-age prostitution and all forms of military aggression."

In 1893 Rossetti developed cancer and Graves' disease then died the following year due to the cancer on December 29, 1894; she is buried in Highgate Cemetery. In the early 20th century Rossetti's popularity faded as many respected Victorian writers' reputations suffered from Modernism's backlash. Rossetti remained largely unnoticed and unread until the 1970s when feminist scholars began to recover and comment on her work. In the last few decades Rossetti's writing has been rediscovered and she has regained admittance into the Victorian literary canon.

Rossetti's works include:
Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862)
The Prince's Progress and Other Poems (1866)
Commonplace (1870)
Sing-Song: a Nursery Rhyme Book (1872, 1893)
A Pageant and Other Poems (1881)
Verses (1893)
New Poems (1895)
Up-Hill (1887)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_Rossetti

A Cinderella Story

Substitute a cell phone for a glass slipper, a Mercedes for a coach and the San Fernando Valley for a land far, far away, and you've got the traditional, but modern version of Cinderella. Except in this one there are mean cheerleaders who think Sam, who is comforted by her best friend, Carter, has stolen Austin from the head cheerleader, Shelby.

No matter how many times this fairytale has been changed, I don't think anyone could have ever thought of it as a modern version like this one. In this story, Cinderella and Prince Charming are Samantha Montgomery and Austin Ames, two high school students in two totally different crowds. He's the popular football captain and student body president who's father wants him to play at USC. She is an orphan living with her evil step-mother and step-sisters who work 7 days a week and is working very hard to graduate early and get out of the currently drought-stricken San Fernando Valley, California. The one thing they have in common and brings them together is their dream to go to Princeton. "Princeton is where princes go to college and where princesses go to meet their princes."
Sam and Austin have been e-mailing and texting each other for a month now, after meeting a Princeton chat room, and have yet to find out who each other really is. All they know is that the opposite person goes to their school. Austin proposes they meet at the dance. Sam agrees and when she starts to think she's going to have a good day, her step-mother, Fiona, makes her work the night shift so she'll have to miss the dance. After some persuasion and searching for the perfect costume, Rhonda (kind of a fairy godmother figure) finds her the perfect outfit. Same makes her grand entrance and meets her prince charming and is very surprised to find it's the most popular guy in school. But he doesn't know who she is because she wears a mask all night long. Sam also has to make it back to the diner, her family owns, before Fiona finds out she went to the dance and never gets a chance to tell Austin who she really is.
While she is trying to get away she drops her cell phone and Austin picks it up and begins his quest for the girl it belongs to. After posting fliers and talking to several girls he starts to think it's all a dream and he'll never find her again, until... Brianna and Gabriella, Sam's step-sisters, set out to destroy their sister after the see her at the dance where Sam accidentally won Princess with Austin. Sam is humiliated when her step-sisters gives the e-mails between her and Austin to his ex-girlfriend and the cheerleaders make a mean skit about her in front of the whole school during a pep rally. To make it worse, Fiona throws away Sam's long-awaited acceptance letter to Princeton and lies to her by giving her a fake rejection letter.

She's soon the laughing stock of North Valley High School. In a fit of self-confidence she tells off Fiona, moves out and seeks out Austin in the men's locker room before the big homecoming game to tell him how she really feels. Sam and her best friend, Carter, decide to go to the came, but near the very end, Same decides she can't tale being there anymore and starts to leave. Austin, who is on the field at this time, sees her start to leave. He tells off his father and throws away his father's dream of him playing football for USC, to confront Sam in the bleachers. While they're in the stands, it starts to rain, thus ending a drought and the Fighting Frogs win their game, even without Austin.

Sam soon finds her father's will, which everyone thought didn't exist. It named her soul heir to everything, cars, house, diner, etc. She sells all the cars for tuition money and that's when we find out Fiona has been lying about everything. Sam and Austin decide to go to Princeton together, well, after Brianna and Gabriella gave her the real acceptance letter. They're a happy couple right now, but hey, they're only freshman, anything can happen.

This whole story is about hiding behind a mask to keep from showing what's really on he outside. Sam isn't afraid to show who she really is on the outside, until she finds out her pen pal is non other than Austin, a popular jock on campus. Austin, on the other hand, is to afraid to tell his father he wants to go to Princeton and not USC. As well as not being able to show his real self to anyone, but Sam through their e-mails and texts. She gets him to open up and she the world who he really is.

Backwards?

How to Write a Backwards Poem
by Bruce Lansky

Backwards poems are great fun. They're not only easy to write, they're very funny as well.


To help you get your students started, I'm going to give you the first and last couplets of a poem by Doug Florian that's published in Miles of Smiles. It's called, sensibly enough, "Mr. Backward."

Mr. Backward lives in town.
He never wakes up, he always wakes down.
(Insert your students' couplets here.)
He goes to sleep beneath his bed
While wearing slippers on his head.


Rhythm and rhyme: As you'll discover, the rhythm pattern in the last couplet is cleaner (more consistent) than the first couplet, so that's the one to follow:


da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM (A)
da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM (A)


As you can see, both lines feature four iambic (da DUM) beats. And both lines rhyme. Pretty simple, isn't it?


Now that you've got the rhythm and rhyme, all you need is a list of stupid things Mr. Backward does. For example, in the poem above Florian has him raking leaves off trees and baking a cake with antifreeze.


As usual, I suggest you start a list on your classroom board to get your students' creative juices flowing. Then send them home with the assignment to come up with a list (and a poem) of their own.


http://www.poetryteachers.com/poetclass/lessons/backwd.html

Cecil Frances Alexander

Cecil Frances (Humphreys) Alexander (Early April 1818, Dublin – 12 October 1895), was a hymn-writer and poet.

She was born in Dublin, the daughter of Major John Humphreys and Elizabeth (née Reed). She began writing verse in her childhood. Her religious work was strongly influenced by her contacts with the Oxford Movement and in particular with John Keble, who edited one of her anthologies. By the 1840s she was already known as a hymn writer and her compositions were soon included in Church of Ireland hymnbooks.

Her book, Hymns for Little Children reached its 69th edition before the close of the nineteenth century. Some of her hymns, e.g. "All Things Bright and Beautiful", "There is a Green Hill Far Away" and the Christmas carol "Once in Royal David's City", are known by many millions of Christians the world over.

In Strabane in October 1850 she married the Anglican clergyman William Alexander, afterwards Bishop of Derry and Archbishop of Armagh. Her husband also wrote several books of poetry, of which the most important is St. Augustine's Holiday and other Poems.

She was also involved in charitable work. Money from her first publications had helped build the Derry and Raphoe Diocesan Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, which was founded in 1846 in Strabane. The profits from "Hymns for Little Children" were donated to this school.

Little Chick's Big Day

My eighth outside book is Little Chick's Big Day by Mary DeBall Kwitz. It's not a picture book. A little chick keeps running away from her mother, the Broody Hen, because she doesn't want to take a nap. She thinks she's too old for naps. First she hides in the garden, next the barn, then down to the pond where he's never been before. She just sat there watching the dragonflies and the butterflies, the bees and frogs, and just the pond in general. She say she reflection and asked "Are you too old for naps?" (19). When her reflection didn't answer she decided she didn't care anymore. She was just happy watching the sun in the pond.

A little while later, she could no longer hear the Broody Hen calling for her and started to think that maybe she couldn't find her or maybe she herslef was lost. She started to look around and couldn't find the barn or Broody Hen. She asked her reflection if she was lost. The little chick in the water didn't say anything back. Little Chick started running back to find Broody Hen and announced that she was home to the barn. But Broody Hen wasn't in there. She ran all across the barnyard yelling "Broody Hen! Where are you?" (27)

Little Chick finally found her and Broody Hen said she was waithing for her. She told the hen she had gone to the pond, but Broody Hen already knew for she had seen her go down there and had decided to wait for the chick to come back to her. After a nap, Little Chick made the decision to go to the pond again tomorrow.

You're never too old for a nap (too true) and no matter how much you try to run away from your parents, they'll always be there for you ready to take you under their wing and sing you to sleep. It just may take some time by yourself, but you'll get there. Lost, but soon found.

When writing children's peotry...

When writing children's poetry here are some things to remember:

1. Don't Be a Mimic
The first mistake that all new writers to children's poetry fall into is writing like another writer. Publishers receive tons of Dr. Seuss-like poems from hopeful writers. If you are going to write children's poems, you first have to develop a unique voice, one that no one can dispute or copy. Courses in this area are usually available at local colleges, and writer's groups are invaluable for testing new work. This is the key to breaking into the poetry market.

2. Know your Market
You can't get a feel for the market that will buy your poems unless you read into it. Spend some time at a local bookstore, and browse other sets of children's poems in order to see the different types that are out there. Order children's magazine, and take a look at what makes the cut.

3. Find Areas of Interest
There are some areas that will always be of interest to publishers for poetry. Some publishers prefer easy reading, other prefer non-fiction and teaching books, and so on. Read up on this.

4. Make your Work Challenging
Children are very intelligent. Many writers feel a need to make their work very simple. Allow children to think while they are reading. Also, provide text that will lend itself to rich illustration, because most children love pictures.

5. Be Original
Stories about "Hairy hare," "tiny turtle" and "purple pig" will not go over well. Avoid moralizing, because everyone does not have the same beliefs. Cute and typical stories will not make it, whereas original, off-the-wall ideas will.

6. Hone your Advertising Skills
If you can write a good query letter, you can often get your poetry in the door. Read up on writing these letters, and sending them in a manner that will incline publishers favorably toward you. Read up on publishers before you send them a manuscript. Some specifically say that they do not accept children's poems, while others may not be suited to your work.

7. Don't Give Up
It is very easy to give up in the field of writing. But remember, if your style is truly original, you have a good shot at getting something in print eventually. Good luck!

8. Test your Work
Kids always love a good story. Find a class, family or preschool and ask if you can read your stories to their children. Feedback from kids is usually the best gauge you can have.

http://www.readprint.com/article-7

Copyright © 2006 Read Print. All rights reserved.

Short Bio of Kenneth Grahame

Kenneth Grahame was born at 30 Castle Street, Edinburgh, on 8 March 1859. He was the third child of an affluent advocate, and his great-grand-uncle was the poet and curate James Grahame. He was also the cousin of Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins (1863-1933), author (as Anthony Hope) of "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1894). Grahame's father was appointed Sheriff-Substitute of Argyllshire in 1860, and the family moved to Inverary. Grahame's mother died of scarlet fever in 1864, and his father, a heavy drinker, was incapable of caring for the children, so they were sent to Cookham Dene in Berkshire to be brought up by their grandmother. Grahame was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford (1868-75), but was unable to enter Oxford University. Instead, after a period working for his uncle in London, he joined the Bank of England as a gentleman-clerk in 1879, rising to become Secretary to the Bank in 1898.

Grahame contributed essays and stories to "The Yellow Book" and W. E. Henley's "National Observer", and his collections "Pagan Papers", "The Golden Age" and "Dream Days" were well received by critics such as Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch ("Q", 1863-1944), who became a close friend. Grahame's stories centred on a fictional family of five children which he had created during his own childhood.

Grahame married Elspeth Thomson in 1899, and their only child, Alastair, was born the following year (he was killed in 1918). Grahame created the character of Toad to amuse his son, but it was not until 1908 that he published "The Wind In The Willows", which had its origins in letters he had written to Alastair. By then he had already retired from the Bank (in 1907) due to ill health. The book was not an immediate success, but would achieve wider popularity thanks to the 1930 stage version, "Toad of Toad Hall" by A. A. Milne (1882-1956), whose "Winnie-the-Pooh" (1926) was created for his own son Christopher Robin.

In 1916 Grahame edited "The Cambridge Book of Poetry for Children", but he published no more work of his own. After Alastair's death, Grahame and his wife spent long periods in Italy. He died peacefully at his home in Pangbourne on 6 July 1932.

info from:

http://www.applebookshop.co.uk/author/grahame.htm

Copyright © 1998 to 2007 AppleBookshop Last updated: 13 Feb 2008

A Fox Jumped Up One Winters Night

This little golden book is based on a song of the same name. The book was written and illustrated by Nina Barbaresi. A fox run and runs all in hopes of getting to his den before dinner. He see a barn and decides to leave a dollar in exchange for a grey goose. The farmer's wife hears and send her husband after fox. But the fox gets away pretty fast. He makes it home to his den with his wife and 10 children to have a meal like they have never had before. He and his wife sit happily and watch their children as they chew on the bones.

I personally don't see a moral, but an adaption from a song.

Seach for Me

I found an awsome website if you are interested in becoming a teacher. It's http://www.teach-nology.com/ . It's where I got this word search. The word search is not interactive, but you can print it out and try it yourself. This site has many interesting connections to help anyone in their teaching class or if your are already a teacher of young children. It explains tips on lesson plans, games and just general classroom information. You can print out worksheets, fun sheets, holiday makers and other things for an elementary class. TeAchnolgy has every subject and even some I'm not even sure are taught in classes normally, or at least were'nt when I was in elementary school.